Synology Router RT2600ac – Engineered for Performance

Technology advancement has made our life convenient and easy. With every passing hour, a new company surfaces which provide a great product that makes our tech-nerd dreams come true. There is so much research and development going on in the field of technology and so many great products and gadgets, sometimes one cannot keep up. One such product is a router. And who can deny its importance in the modern world!

Since the dawn of the internet age, we have seen tremendous development in how the internet works, what makes it work, and how individual needs of users has shaped its direction of growth. Probably the most important factor here is the convenience of use. Gone are the days of the dial-up, snail-speed internet.

And gone are the days of needing a computer and a wired connection. High-speed internet has reached our mobile phones and is used on the go, no wires and no limitations attached. Convenience has taken over this industry. And it is this feature that is the core of all new products and development in this field.

Customizability is an asset when it comes to gadgets. Individual needs differ greatly and every user’s preferences can only be met when devices and gadgets come with a range of options. In the case of routers, individual needs and use differ greatly.

If speed and ease of customizability are the deciding factors for your next router purchase, look no further than the RT2600ac. Synology has come up with a router which is great for a highly customizable home and small office network with advanced features.

This router is actually an upgrade to last year’s RT1900ac. The new model is more expensive than its predecessor. Not only is the RT2600ac one of the fastest Wi-Fi routers on the market, it also has the most comprehensive set of features.

And when you connect an external hard drive, the router also works as a network storage (NAS) server so you can share data and stream content to local as well as remote clients. It is the best choice for a robust, non-compromising, and secure home network.

Specifications and Features:

A quick look at its specs and features are given below:

Quad-stream, dual-band Wi-Fi

Top speed up to 1,733 megabits per seconds on the 5GHz band

Up to 800Mbps on the 2.4GHz band

Layer 4 and 7 hardware acceleration engine

7GHz dual core CPU

512 MB DDR3 memory

77 mm x 280 mm x 169 mm (without antenna)

Synology Router Management (SRM) firmware – the most advanced firmware for routers – not managed via a web page like other routers rather works like a modern operating system

Free DS Router app for iOS and Android for management of some of the router’s settings on a smartphone

A web interface for computers and laptops where more detailed settings can be managed

Setting the router is easier because it is more like setting up a computer than a networking device

Highly customizable for home networks and small office setting – built keeping advanced users in mind. Port forwarding, dynamic DNS, and MAC filtering are some of the customizable settings

Two USB ports and one SD card slot

One WAN (internet) port to connect to your modem and four LAN ports

Dual WAN router – one of the LAN ports can be converted into a second WAN port in case you want to use two broadband services at the same time

Parental and traffic control features available

It has an app store, called Package Center, from where more features can be added on to the router – many free apps available. Third party apps also available

Two of the most important and noteworthy apps for the RT2600ac are:

Download Station – This app, as the name suggests downloads files. Its sources include but are not limited to FTP servers, DHCP servers, or file sharing services like BitTorrent. It includes a comprehensive BitTorrent search function.

Intrusion Prevention – Again as the name suggests, this app is basically for the security of your home network and all connected devices. Since hacking into devices connected to the internet is very easy and common nowadays, privacy-conscious people would love this feature. It can give detailed reports and analysis, including the ability to pinpoint on a world map where detected threats are coming from.

An SD card or USB external device is required for storage of its packages since the internal storage is not enough. With this extra space, the router can also work as a network storage server.

There is an intelligent web-filtering feature built-in to the RT2600ac, which is part of the Parental Control feature. It can block internet access based on categories or block specific domains. It can either work manually or work at specific times according to user settings. It can block secure HTTPS sites like Facebook or YouTube.

Most other routers cannot. It can also block advertising to your computer so that you can surf ad-free on the internet. This is a great feature and comes in very handy since internet advertising has plagued every site and is very annoying. Easily block out thousands of sites with built-in Google SafeSearch integration and a constantly updated database of customizable website categories. The Traffic Control feature allows you to manage and monitor internet bandwidth. Bandwidth can easily be restricted to specific applications without affecting the rest.

The RT2600ac does not have link aggregation. Link aggregation in routers means the ability to combine two LAN ports into a single superfast connection.

It has excellent range. With its dual-band feature, it could sometimes become confusing which one to connect to, whether the 2.4 GHz or the 5GHz bands. With Synology’s Smart Connect, this confusion does not arise. All devices connect to the most appropriate band automatically, letting users experience simplified management without worrying about range or speed issues.

Although this is an amazing router, its large amount of features and customizations might be overwhelming for those who just want to get online. But as discussed earlier, this router is ideal for the advanced user. Those users who are really picky about how they use their gadgets and what exactly they want out of them, this gadget is for you. This is an ideal router for building a powerful network for your home or small office.